Third baseman Travis Shaw slugged the first two home runs of his major league career and had four RBIs as the Boston Red Sox overcame another shaky start from Joe Kelly in an 11-7 win over the Tampa...

OUR NATION faces multiple challenges as serious as I’ve seen in my lifetime. The private economy is too weak to supply sufficient jobs that pay enough to support families. The federal government is drowning in debt and has made spending promises it cannot possibly keep. Our treasured Constitution, the most important document ever written in defense against government tyranny, is brazenly ignored with impunity whenever convenient for those holding power.

Times such as these demand principled, courageous leadership, and for that reason, I have endorsed Jim Rubens for U.S. Senate.

I have known and worked closely with Jim Rubens for nearly two decades, dealing with a variety of state and national political issues. Jim offers voters that very rare combination of judgment, intelligence, practicality, inventiveness, persuasive ability and an unshakable commitment to principle that makes a leader.

During his time in the s tate Senate, Jim launched a debate on the complex matter of bringing electricity choice and competition to New Hampshire. We now have it, and it has saved ratepayers millions. Jim led the fight against entrenched unions to pass SB-2, the all-day voting law that has increased voter turnouts by five times in town and school district elections. Jim wrote and passed our state’s charter school law, which for the first time has created school choice, diversity of education options, and bottom-up reform, allowing more of our kids to reach their full potential and showing how public schools can operate successfully at lower cost to taxpayers.

Jim was the Union Leader’s Citizen of the Year in 2013 for his having united people across the political spectrum to keep crony-capitalist casino monopolies out of our state.

Jim Rubens is the only candidate running for this seat who offers a bold and concrete plan to reach long-term budget balance — without more taxes. Jim has proposed a robust and specific set of proposals to replace Obamacare, provide freedom of choice for patients and bring down the punishingly high cost of health care. Jim’s six point plan to restore vigor to our private economy includes proposals to end all energy subsidies and to sunset and revisit all regulations every ten years.

If you are looking for a conventional thinker or someone who will take orders from the Washington establishment, like Jeanne Shaheen or Scott Brown, then Jim is not your man. Unlike the other candidates, Jim unequivocally opposes unconstitutional dragnet spying by government against innocent American citizens.

What most sets Jim Rubens apart and what makes him most needed today is his bravery in the face of establishment pressure to remain silent. He is the single Republican running for U.S. Senate in the entire nation to make an issue of the corrupt campaign funding system where millions in campaign money are traded for votes. Jim has pledged to give his Senate pension back to taxpayers, to limit himself to two terms, and not to become a Washington lobbyist after leaving office.

It bears emphasis. Jim Rubens has pledged to limit himself to two terms and to give back his pension to the taxpayers. As a former U.S. Senator, I state unequivocally that no reform would have greater positive effect than eliminating career politicians from Congress. It’s the one, single reform that is capable of saving our country from ruin at the hands of the political hacks who have traded integrity for congressional career status over and over again.

The central argument made for Scott Brown’s candidacy is that voters should overlook his awful, Democrat-like voting record because he will have the money to wage the TV ad war against Jeanne Shaheen. This argument fails on two counts. First, campaign contributions will follow the Republican candidate picked by New Hampshire voters on Sept. 9 because the overriding goal for Republican Party is to win back the Senate. Second, it gets us nothing to have an R who votes like a D for big-government, crony capitalism and Washington business-as-usual career politics.

Join me in voting for Jim Rubens, a rare individual whose talents, thoughtfulness and principle are sorely needed in these challenging times.

Gordon Humphrey is a former Republican U.S. senator from New Hampshire.